A good review from MR. Nice and balanced and also to the point. I wasn't too surprised about the comments regards OVF and the LCD but was regards the shutter button location and also from what looks like a major oversight regards the in camera buffer - how they failed to spot this one is completely baffling. IQ wise it was good to see that they have improved the sensor and that he was more than happy with the ISO100-400/800. Regards Venus III, I'm beginning to wonder if there is two versions of it - one designed for the L1 and another for the FZ's/LX's etc.
My only real concern regards the L1 when it was announced (other than being way over priced) was the location of the shutter button. After seeing the video of [email protected] using the L1 I was a bit worried that it looked very awkward to use esp as I don;t have the biggest hands and to have MR mention this reinforces this. Being able to hold the camera comfortably for long periods (not that I do it too often) is going to be important to me as I find my FZ10's setup awkward too.
The real plus point in the review is the Leica D which from all indications in that review is a cracker of a lens. I wonder when Pana will sell the lens separately ? I'm sure if it is as good as MR suggests (if its better than the Zukio 14-54) then there will be plenty of potential Oly E1/E300/330 users who would be willing to purchase one. What is good about the L1 is the quality of the Leica D and that the other Pana 4/3 lenses projected for 2007 will surely be of the same high optical quality.

Now we just need to wait for the other reviews to come in.

On a personal note - I'll be waiting to see what the L1 feels like in the hand and at what price point it comes in at. For now I may just pick up an E1 as its at ridculously low prices and pair it up with a Zukio 14-54mm f2.8-3.5 as my first DLSR to learn with. If the L1 isn;t right than the E1+14-54 will do me just fine and I'll be more than happy to wait for an L2 or even a EVIL Pansonic DSLR.

To be honest, the L1 kooks a lot to me like a Konica Hexar AFon steroids, and that's not all bad. A lot of features, even the shutter release location,are the same. I'vealways said if the Hexar could be releasedin a digital version, right down to the 35mm f2 lens, I'd be in line to buy one.It's now down to finding where it finally goes on sale locally so I can get one in my hands and decide what I think, but I like this first look you posted. Thanks.

I very much enjoyed that review but I can't help being strangely amused by this comment that I have read in EVERY review of a Olympus DLRs with regard to the SSWF:

"My only complaint is that this slows down boot up time and I'd therefore suggest that its use be made optional via a custom function."

This adds, what...maybe a second and half to the boot up? I know when I turn on my E-500, it's ready to go before I've even got my fingers on the lens cap. Yet I have actually seen reviews where the boot up time is compared in .1 second increments as if it has some practical significance. Geez, it takes me about 6 seconds to unzip my gadget bag . If anybody is losing shots because their camera boots up a second or two slower than the competition, I'm not inclined to buy that excuse.

Geez, it takes me about 6 seconds to unzip my gadget bag . If anybody is losing shots because their camera boots up a second or two slower than the competition, I'm not inclined to buy that excuse.

I absolutely agree with you. I'll give the guy at Luminous Landscape a pass on it because I've read him in the past and know what he's used to using...the best, most expensive, fastest operating equipment the dollar can buy, and he obviously has many dollars to spend- this camera for him would be like you or I buying a $200 point &amp; shoot to use alongside our DSLR, but for the vast majority of us, and probably all the people who will be buying this camera- people who love classic type controls, it's a non-issue.

And I agree with you guys on this one second or more slower than the rest. I'm saying aren't we talking about a second or two start up, not five or six.Honestly, Ifind some of this comical to entertain as an issue. :idea: If it is that big of a concern then when you reach into your bag, as noted above,make sure you hit the start button before you take it out. Simple. This way you won't miss a picture.

Now, I 've never owned aDSLRand wouldn't know how comfortable it will be to have the shutter button at an angle with the huge and presumably comfortable gripthen I can onlysay this: I just held my old trusty Canon F1N from 1982 (top of the line) in my hands and the shutter release button is on the top, just as all the contemporary cameras were at that time. Admittedly the release is more toward the front on the top, which gives my index finger a little more ease,butI moved it back and to the right a bit to get a feel for the L1's shutter releaseposition and it didn't seem too much ofa hindrance. But I'm used to it on the top so this shouldn't be an issue here for me. I also noticed my grip in the front of the F1N is very similar to the L1's. By the way, when I bought my first Canon camera which was the A1 (alongside me also) the reviewers said what a nice addition it was to have something in front of the camera that you could grip and hold. Then the F1N came along with the same type of grip. Times have changed. And now the L1's gripis similar to my 24 year old F1Nand the26year old A1.

Something totally off topic but related: I have a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix and the cruise control set-upis, yes, identical to my old 1987 Pontiac Bonneville which I had for10 years.

And when I told the salesman who sold me the Grand Prix he was really surprised about the cruise control. I'm sure he didn't believe me because he was in his early thirties. :roll:

Quickly, before I get reprimanded for being off topic: A friend whom I hadn't seen for a few years said ''Hi old man.'' I said, ''Wait a minute here, 64 is old, I'm 63!'' :-)

On topic now. As HarjTT said, the reviewer was honest and to me, thankfully so. Not that others aren't of course but considering the marketthe L1 is aimed at I would hve thought a couple of other details would have been ironed out.

So, as mentioned , this is a negative review for me and it is a turn off on this camera.

Looks like I'll be looking at the 30D and the D200 again and yes, the big difference in price, D80.

Well, today I bit the bullet and ordered a Oly E1+14-45mm as the prices are just so low that it'd be silly not to. I'll be looking to upgrade the lens to a 14-54mm asap as I've been spolied by the FZ10's "Leica" and the total price will be less than the price of the E330 body only. I can live with the 5MP for now - I've been using a 4MP FZ10 for nearly 2 yeats now. However, that doesn't mean that I will not be looking at the L1 and how it looks and feels like in the hand.

Cheers

HarjTT

:O :|

PS.

I'll still be using my FZ10 - I've only just begun to take a decent pic with it.